


Only Time Will Tell

by wastefulreverie



Series: PhannieMay Shots 2019 [5]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Family, Gen, Next Gen, Next Gen OC, OC, Second Gen OC, Smol boy with anxiety, Spiderman pajamas may as well be a tag, Tucker is the best Uncle ngl, Wholesome, immortal au, immortal!AU, immortal!danny, second gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-26 23:49:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18727351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wastefulreverie/pseuds/wastefulreverie
Summary: James Fenton has something on his mind. Unable to sleep, he sneaks out of the house to have a talk with his Uncle Tucker.





	Only Time Will Tell

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Day Five of PhannieMay 2019, Second Gen.

"Pst, Uncle Tucker! You got a minute?" James Fenton popped into existence three feet from Tucker's face, startling the elder man and prompting him to reach for his ghost weapon. By the time that James registered as 'not a threat' in his brain, the eleven-year-old halfa had already retreated to the other side of Tucker's living room.

"Wow… shoot me, why don't you?" James pouted, landing firmly on Tucker's maroon carpet. Some of his white hair fell into his face and he tried to blow it away, eventually giving up and brushing it to the side with his hand.

"I'm sorry," Tucker apologized, quickly pocketing the ectogun. He patted the seat on the couch next to him, inviting his guest to sit. "You startled me. Your dad usually at least _knocks_."

James stretched his arms out and casually changed from his ghost form back into his human form. Tucker was taken aback to see that he was wearing Spiderman pajamas, which made him realize exactly how late James was visiting him. With a quick glance at his smart-watch, he observed that it was well past 11pm. The fact that James had came here in his ghost form also wasn't a good sign….

"Let me guess," James cracked a lopsided grin, plopping onto the couch, "you tried to kill him, too?"

"Oh _no_ ," Tucker joked, "you figured out my dirty secret! I've gained your family's trust for years just so I can assassinate the great Danny Phantom. And now my plans are in _shambles_ -"

"You're a dork, Uncle Tuck," James poked his arm, trying not to laugh.

Tucker raised a brow, "Says the nerd in Spiderman PJs."

"I'm eleven," James defended. "Spiderman PJs are still okay."

"Hmmm, whatever you say," Tucker shrugged. "Why are you visiting me at eleven o'clock in your PJs anyway? You know that when you sneak out, it's _probably_ not the best idea to visit your parents' best friend if you plan to get away with it."

James froze. "You're going to tell Mom and Dad?"

"Well, seeing that you snuck out of the house, flew here despite your unstable powers, and could've been caught by ghost hunters I think that's enough to warrant telling your parents. What I'm saying is that wasn't exactly the _safest_ thing you could do."

"I'm perfectly capable of avoiding ghost hunters!" James protested. "And my powers aren't _that_ unstable. My core's almost matured-"

"We're not arguing about this, kid," Tucker shut him down. "But while you're here, we might as well talk about whatever thing you wanted to see me about."

"How'd you know that I wanted to talk to you about something specific?" James asked, looking almost disappointed.

"I'm just psychic," Tucker laughed. "I can read your mind."

James scoffed, "Yeah, _sure_." He looked down and picked at some of the fibers of the couch. Tucker remained patient and gave James some time. After a few moments, James exhaled slowly.

"I couldn't sleep," he admitted quietly. "I just… couldn't get my mind to shut up and I had to talk to someone. Someone that wasn't Mom or Dad - or Lilith…."

Tucker nodded, staying neutral. "What's on your mind, then?"

James bit his lip. "I overheard something I wasn't supposed to hear. I don't know how to process it or - or even _ask_. That, and how can I admit to Mom and Dad that I was eavesdropping?"

 _Oh_. So this was a tough one. Tucker could think of plenty of things that Sam and Danny kept from their kids that would definitely disturb anyone who wasn't ready to hear it. They weren't all necessarily bad things, just… _difficult_. Suddenly, Tucker was glad that he and his fiance weren't planning on having children.

"If you tell me what it was, then maybe I can help you put these thoughts to rest?" Tucker offered.

James clenched his fists, "Am I going to die? Like… _ever_?" he asked hopelessly. "Mom and Dad… they realized that Dad hasn't aged in like _nine_ years. From what they were saying, they kinda figured out that he's immortal? And if Dad can't ever die or age… what about me and Lilith? Am I going to stop aging in my twenties like Dad did?"

 _Abort abort abort_. Whatever Tucker had been expecting, it hadn't been _that_. He'd figured it out two years ago that Danny hadn't been aging since around his tenth deathday. Yet, he hadn't said anything because he assumed that either Danny already knew or if he didn't know, Tucker telling him would severely stress him out. And now James knew. An eleven year old child, questioning his own mortality. This was far too young for anyone to learn that they might never grow up, to be burdened with eons ahead. Or at the least, to know that their father will outlive them - stuck forever as a twenty-four year old.

" _That's_ ," Tucker inhaled, "that's a lot, James. Wow… that's just, um, a lot to think about for someone your age."

"Living forever doesn't seem so bad, but will I have to watch Mom die? You die? And then there's the chance that I'm _not_ immortal since I'm only partially a halfa. And what if Dad _can_ still die but can't age, how would we know until he dies? There's just so much I don't know and need to know and… it's just… _too much_." James ran his hands through his hair stressfully.

Tucker cringed with sympathy. This was still just a kid; anything he said he could have a lasting impact on James. He had to be especially careful to say the right thing.

"Those are only things we'll know when the time comes, James," Tucker explained. "So far all we _do_ know is that your dad stopped aging. We don't know for sure that he can't die, even if evidence suggests it. We can't even be sure that you'll be the same. And it's that kind of uncertainty that's getting on your nerves, right?"

"Yeah…" James nodded.

"Well," Tucker leaned in, "let me let you in on a little secret. Everyone, even us normal adults, fear not knowing. There's no telling what life will throw at you, and even when you don't know what's going to happen next, you have to stay flexible."

James's eyes were wide with comprehension. Sensing the kid's anxiety, Tucker comfortingly placed a hand on James's shoulder.

"I _know_ that not knowing what's going to happen is terrifying," Tucker continued, "but if there's nothing you can currently do, you just have to accept that it's something you'll have to deal with in the future, not now. That acceptance takes practice and won't come immediately, but it's the plainest way you can get there."

"But… _how_ exactly do I do that?" James asked desperately. "Like it makes sense, but I just don't…" he groaned, " I don't understand how to make that work for _me_. How do I get rid of all these scary thoughts about it?"

Tucker sighed. How should he put this? It wasn't exactly the easiest thing to explain to anyone…. Not to mention that James's scenario was much more complicated than anything Tucker had to personally face. But… maybe he could recycle some of his own experiences to use as an example? It wouldn't be the same, but it could help James understand more.

"How about I tell you about the time I had to deal with not knowing if I passed the SAT?" Tucker offered. "It's the same principle of what you're facing, even if it's a lot less… _severe_."

"Uh, alright?" James glanced around awkwardly.

Tucker nodded. "I was about seventeen and was starting to apply for colleges. The school I _really_ wanted to go to - MIT - only accepted 8% of applicants. You also had to have at least a certain SAT score for them to even _consider_ you. At the time, I was mainly helping your parents hunt down ghosts, so I didn't even have that many other extracurriculars that I could use to make myself look better. Since I wasn't the best student, I figured that my best shot at getting into MIT would be to do _really_ good on the SAT.

"I worked my a - _butt_ off to get a good score. And then, I took the test. And you know what happened then?"

"What?" James wondered.

"I had to wait. And it was the most God awful three weeks of waiting in my _life_."

"It took three weeks for someone to grade a test?" James asked in disbelief. "It only takes my teachers like… two days!"

"Well, you're in fifth grade," Tucker pointed out. "This is a test that students all over the country take. That's a lot of tests to go through, isn't it?"

"You have a point," James admitted. "So why were those three weeks so bad?"

"Because I didn't know what was going to happen. The application deadline for MIT was getting closer and closer and I still didn't know if my scores were good enough to get it. MIT was my _dream school_. When I was in highschool, I didn't see the point of living if I didn't get in! It meant everything to me that I went to MIT, got my degree, and became the next Steve Jobs-"

"Who?" James tilted his head.

 _Kids these days…_ "That doesn't matter," Tucker dismissed. "I was afraid, so afraid of what would happen if I got a bad score and my impatience was tearing me apart. Does that sound even a bit familiar?" James didn't respond. He looked blankly at Tucker, so Tucker elaborated. "You're scared of the future and you're so impatient that you just want to know _now_ , even though you can't do anything."

James gulped. "So how did you deal with it? Did you just wait the entire three weeks?"

"If I did, there wouldn't be a lesson in telling you this," Tucker reassured. "For the first week, I basically shut down and fell apart because of stress. Your parents eventually noticed how I felt and dragged me out to the Nasty Burger for a talk.

"They helped me realize that it was okay to anticipate both outcomes, that if I didn't get into MIT it wasn't going to be the end of the world. There were still other colleges, and if I did get into MIT - then all that worrying would be for nothing! So when you're afraid of not knowing something, you just gotta embrace looking at the bright side of every scenario."

"And you didn't get into MIT, did you?" James put together. "Your scores weren't good enough, and instead you ended up going to APU with Mom and Dad."

"Yeah, and I was crushed that I didn't get in," Tucker explained. "But because I had looked on the bright side, I was able to pick myself back up. And you know what? It might've been the best thing that happened to me, because guess who I met at APU?" he wiggled his eyebrows. "The _love of my life_ -"

" _Eww_ , stop being a cheesy old person, Uncle Tuck!"

"Cheesy old people are going to be cheesy old people," Tucker shrugged. "So does that help you put things into perspective a bit more?"

"A bit," James nodded. He hesitated for a moment, "Man, I'm glad I came to you instead of Skyping Aunt Jazz."

Tucker snorted. "Yeah… you definitely dodged a bullet _there_. Even though now you're probably gonna get in trouble for sneaking out."

"Not if they don't find out?" James attempted weakly.

"Trust me kid," Tucker laughed, "I gotta help your parents keep you out of trouble. I know it doesn't make me the 'coolest' uncle, but I'm telling your parents."

"But - but that's not fair!" James protested. "I had a reason to visit you! I couldn't sleep! But I can't tell Mom and Dad about that, so what am I supposed to do?"

"I don't see why you _can't_ just tell them the truth," Tucker said.

"Because I don't want to admit that I know about Dad being immortal! A, that's awkward! B, I don't want to admit that I was eavesdropping!"

Tucker playfully ruffled James hair, "Hey, it might not be fun, but look at it this way; if you're already getting in trouble for sneaking out, admitting you eavesdropped shouldn't be that much more trouble. Right?"

James figuratively deflated in his seat. " _Fine_ ," he mumbled. "I'll do the 'right thing'."

"Good," Tucker said, reaching for his phone. "And because of that, I'll call your Dad to pick you up instead of Sam. You don't deserve her wrath tonight."

"Really?" James brightened. " _Thank Clockwork_. Mom does not know how to chill."

"You think I don't know?" Tucker held his phone up to his ear, calling Danny. " _She's_ scarier than not getting into MIT."


End file.
